Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I support the Order of Business. I wish to raise two issues. Yesterday Senator Conway had a Commencement matter on thalidomide to which the Minister gave a response. I will not rehash that response and it would not be appropriate for me to comment on specific cases given that there is ongoing litigation and legal proceedings. Suffice to say, it is a terrible shame that there is such litigation at such cost between the State and the people involved in this case. It is a travesty and a shame. I call on the Deputy Leader to use her influence here. Today I sent a letter to Ms Finola Cassidy who was here yesterday. I said fair play to her, to keep going and that the parliamentary parties are meeting. This is a coalition Government. This can happen and they are very simple asks but it not happening because the coalition Government, all of which I think have parliamentary party meetings this evening, have not made this happen. These people are asking for a Government apology. Surely to God we can give them a Government apology. They are asking for appropriate healthcare supports for their needs. These people are getting older. We are talking about things that happened in the 1950s and 1960s. They are asking for a Government compensation package. Other people have had compensation packages, and rightly so. It is really a terrible shame that we as politicians, although individually well meaning, have been meeting groups here over the past few months and making all sorts of promises. Individual politicians clearly do not have the power to deliver but collectively all of the Deputies and Senators who are members of the three coalition parties can make this happen. I would ask the Deputy Leader to use her good influence. I do not doubt her absolute commitment here but something needs to happen.

I wish to raise the issue of forestry and to thank the Forestry Services Limited and Euroforest for organising a really comprehensive briefing for Oireachtas Members this morning. I say well done to them. More important, they brought great clarity to the engagement with us today. They have asked for 14 policy recommendations. The most important one is the need to establish a dedicated forestry agency to drive this particular area and deliver on the Government targets on which forestry is not and cannot deliver for a whole range of reasons. I ask the Deputy Leader if we could have another debate on forestry and if the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, could come to the House as she is ultimately responsible for the area of forestry and on which I know she is keen. The reality is the Government forestry targets are not being reached. We need a new way to drive the ambition and the delivery of these targets. Today Forestry Services Limited and Euroforest said that they need a specific, targeted forestry agency.